Written Answers Monday 15 December 2008

Scottish Executive

Child Care

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has plans to make child care funding a legal right for college and university students rather than it being provided on a discretionary basis.

Fiona Hyslop: Full-time higher education lone parent students currently have an entitlement to apply for Higher Education Lone Parent Grant and Higher Education Lone Parent Childcare Grant.

  The Scottish Government currently has no plans to make other child care funding available through the Discretionary Funds a legal right for college and university students.

  The Scottish Government published, on the 15 December, a consultation on student support for higher education. The consultation will consider the current support arrangements for higher education students and seek views on a number of proposals in connection with that.

  The Scottish Government published on 10 December its Early Years and Early Intervention Framework which recognises that the cost and accessibility of child care is a major concern for parents in Scotland. At present, child care support for parents is a reserved matter, and is provided via the childcare vouchers and child tax credit schemes. In the framework, we set out a desire for a single, accessible and more progressive system of supporting the costs of child care.

Dentistry

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to enter into negotiations with the British Dental Association with a view to bringing dentists back into the NHS.

Shona Robison: My officials meet regularly with the British Dental Association and I last met with them on 9 September. These discussions include NHS general dental service provision and financial support for dentists providing NHS general dental services.

Dentistry

Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the population of Inverclyde is registered with an NHS dentist, broken down by age group.

Shona Robison: The information for Inverclyde Community Health Partnership and Local Council area from March 2007 to June 2008 is published on ISD’s website at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=dent_reg_table2_june08.xls&pContentDispositionType=attachment.

  The information does not represent the percentage of people in the Inverclyde Community Health Partnership and local council area who are registered. Registrations (numerator) are based on the postcode of the practice where the patient has registered with a general dental practitioner. The population (denominator) is based on where the patient resides, in this case the community health partnership and local council area. In some cases, the number of registrations may exceed the actual number of "people" in the chosen population.

Emergency Planning

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it, or the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives, is undertaking to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to prepare for a pandemic.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has already undertaken considerable work with businesses to ensure that they are prepared for a flu pandemic. Engagement is continuing on both a Scottish and UK basis with businesses in sectors such as transport and energy.

  A Scottish Framework for Responding to an Influenza Pandemic was published by the Scottish Government in 2007 and provides guidance and planning assumptions on which all business continuity plans should be made. The framework is supported by a range of sector-specific guidance, including advice on infection control. The guidance is available on the Scottish Government website at www.scotland.gov.uk/pandemicflu.

  Local authorities also have a role in supporting businesses. Under the Civil Contingencies Act, local authorities are required to provide assistance to those undertaking commercial activities and to voluntary organisations in relation to business continuity management. These responsibilities are outlined in the Scottish Government’s guidance on preparing for emergencies Preparing Scotland. The Scottish Government continues to provide support to local authorities in carrying out this role.

  The Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives provides advice on health promotion and occupational health and safety. Business continuity planning for a flu pandemic does not fall within this remit.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions took place with the (a) Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (MWCS) and (b) Royal College of Psychiatrists prior to the proposal to merge MWCS, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland and the Care Commission.

Shona Robison: The government’s scrutiny improvement work has consulted widely over the last year. Specific proposals for scrutiny improvement have emerged from that work and the changes proposed reflect those consultations. Further discussions with the stakeholders of the current and new health and mental welfare bodies will be undertaken as the legislative proposals are developed.

Health

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on the rolling out of Keep Yer Shirt On, the pilot programme run in Tayside and Fife to heighten awareness of the dangers of sunlight.

Shona Robison: The "Keep Yer Shirt On" sun awareness campaign was initiated by NHS Tayside and Fife and ran from April 2002 for two years with funding from the Big Lottery Fund (BLF) targeting carers of pre-school children. Following its success, further funding was provided from the BLF to extend the project to include primary school aged children and their carers.

  Decisions on priorities for investment in local health programmes are taken by NHS boards.

  The project ended in November 2007 and the NHS boards involved have no plans to roll out further, although resource packs are available to download at www.sunaware.scot.nhs.uk or: www.scan.scot.nhs.uk.

  The Scottish Government has committed to funding of £11,000 for 2008-09 to the UK-wide Cancer Research UK Sunsmart campaign which highlights the importance of early detection, avoiding burning from sun exposure and the potential dangers of sunbeds.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many recorded cases of Clostridium difficile there were in each of the last eight quarters, broken down by hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: National surveillance of Clostridium difficile is carried out at board level although hospitals undertake local surveillance. However, in future there will be a common reporting template used by all boards to capture HAI data at hospital/service level on a number of metrics, for example MRSA, C.diff, Hand Hygiene, cleaning standards and causes of adverse incidents. Prior to October 2006 cases were reported on a voluntary basis and the systems for doing so were unreliable. Therefore only the past seven quarters of data are available. It should also be noted that the first quarter (October 2006 to December 2006) of data collection was artificially low, due to a lack of full compliance with the surveillance protocol by some hospitals.

  Table showing C.diff cases for the past seven quarters, broken down by health board:

  

 
October 06 -December 06
 January 07 - March 07
April 07 – June 07
 July 07 - September 07
 October 07 - December 07
 January 08 - March 08
April 08 – June 08


 Ayrshire and Arran
 110
 151
 137
 152
 113
 125
 160


 Borders
 13
 13
 18
 16
 20
 33
 25


 Dumfries and Galloway
 34
 44
 53
 26
 31
 47
 41


 Fife
 48
 108
 73
 72
 123
 134
 98


 Forth Valley
 64
 102
 54
 70
 81
 120
 126


 Grampian
 119
 151
 116
 103
 149
 247
 226


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 268
 472
 444
 416
 421
 463
 402


 Highland
 50
 64
 58
 86
 81
 35
 47


 Lanarkshire
 140
 226
 194
 170
 198
 251
 189


 Lothian
 241
 258
 262
 212
 248
 259
 261


 Orkney
 3
 0
 5
 0
 5
 1
 5


 Shetland
 4
 5
 2
 3
 2
 4
 1


 Tayside
 108
 172
 169
 131
 135
 139
 145


 Western Isles
 11
 9
 3
 2
 1
 3
 6


 Total
 1,213
 1,775
 1,588
 1,459
 1,608
 1,861
 1,732



  Source: Health Protection Scotland: www.hps.scot.nhs.uk.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the publication of the Health Protection Scotland report, NHS Scotland National HAI Prevalence Survey, in July 2007, what steps have been taken to carry out targeted incidence surveillance for Clostridium difficile, as set out under Objective 6 in page 157 of the report.

Nicola Sturgeon: Targeted incidence surveillance by NHS Scotland boards of C. difficile in those over 65 years was made mandatory from September 2006, and this approach will be extended to include patients aged 15 years and over from April 2009.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many isolates of Clostridium difficile ribotype 027 and 078 have been found in each of the last four quarters, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: All available information on ribotypes is published in the clostridium difficile  quarterly reports available through the Health Protection Scotland website at www.hps.scot.nhs.uk  .

  At present information is only recorded at a national level and is not broken down by health board or hospital. Samples from severe cases of CDAD and suspected outbreaks are submitted to the Scottish Reference Laboratory Service for typing.

  The Scottish Government has asked Health Protection Scotland to co-ordinate a "snapshot" study of Clostridium difficile ribotypes. This study will start early next year and will involve the typing of all samples of C.diff, not just those of severe disease, suspected outbreaks, or suspected infections with ribotype 027. This will give an accurate picture of the epidemiology of C.diff strains in Scotland and will help to inform how the monitoring of strains should take place in future. The results will be made available publicly.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to ensure that the Protocol for the Scottish Surveillance Programme for Clostridium difficile Associated Disease , established by Health Protection Scotland prior to the opening of the national laboratory service at Stobhill hospital on 20 November 2007, has been followed, particularly in relation to the first criteria, severe cases.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS boards are responsible for ensuring they comply with national guidance as set out in the Health Protection Scotland (HPS) protocols for surveillance. NHS board practice in this area is also the subject of review by the HAI National Taskforce, chaired by the Chief Nursing Officer.

Higher Education

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was distributed through the Higher Education Childcare Fund in each of the last three years, broken down by institution.

Fiona Hyslop: The following table shows the amount of funding distributed through the Higher Education Childcare Fund by each Scottish institution in academic years 2005-06 and 2006-07. The childcare fund was introduced in academic year 2005-06. Prior to this funding was available through the Mature Students Bursary Fund though it was not restricted to assistance with child care costs only. Amounts distributed through this fund are shown for academic year 2004-05.

  

 Funds distributed by Further Education Institutions (FECs)
Mature Students Bursary Fund 2004-05 Total Amount Issued by Institutions (£000)
Childcare Fund2005-06 Total Amount Issued by Institutions (£000)
Childcare Fund 2006-07 Total Amount Issued by Institutions (£000)


 Aberdeen College
 126
 133
 90


 Angus College
 99
 33
 19


 Anniesland College
 39
 24
 26


 Ayr College
 129
 60
 67


 Banff and Buchan College
 18
 23
 22


 Barony College
 1
 -
 4


 Borders College
 2
 13
 9


 Adam Smith College1
 -
 100
 124


 Cardonald College
 124
 43
 43


 Central College of Commerce
 85
 19
 49


 Clackmannan College2
 13
 0
 0


 Clydebank College
 95
 21
 18


 Coatbridge College
 164
 132
 94


 Cumbernauld College
 47
 26
 34


 Dumfries and Galloway College
 60
 26
 16


 Dundee College
 199
 58
 67


 Edinburgh’s Telford College
 73
 43
 23


 Elmwood College
 35
 11
 19


 Falkirk College2
 174
 -
 -


 Fife College1
 75
 -
 -


 Forth Valley College2
 -
 78
 81


 Glasgow College of Building and Printing3
 124
 -
 -


 Glasgow College of Food Technology3
 -
 -
 -


 Glasgow Metropolitan College3 
 -
 70
 81


 Glasgow College of Nautical Studies
 53
 37
 46


 Glenrothes College1
 53
 -
 -


 James Watt College
 355
 187
 174


 Jewel and Esk Valley College
 49
 45
 33


 John Wheatley
 14
 8
 4


 Kilmarnock College
 100
 80
 68


 Langside College
 64
 30
 54


 Lauder College
 64
 30
 39


 Motherwell College
 172
 49
 30


 Newbattle Abbey College
 -
 -
 -


 North Glasgow College
 58
 31
 13


 Oatridge Agricultural College
 7
 5
 10


 Reid Kerr College
 241
 87
 79


 South Lanarkshire College
 68
 46
 58


 Stevenson College
 66
 50
 34


 Stow College
 87
 69
 24


 West Lothian College
 92
 61
 42


 Total FECs
 3,222
 1,727
 1,593


 Funds distributed by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)
 
 
 


 Aberdeen University
 41
 40
 73


 Bell College of Technology
 146
 111
 75


 Dundee University
 377
 157
 157


 Edinburgh College of Art
 30
 29
 21


 Edinburgh University
 244
 59
 104


 Glasgow Caledonian University
 323
 50
 162


 Glasgow School of Art
 22
 4
 11


 Glasgow University
 245
 128
 117


 Heriot Watt University
 22
 35
 27


 Napier University
 240
 34
 48


 Queen Margaret University College
 69
 37
 48


 Robert Gordon University
 181
 86
 73


 RSAMD
 1
 3
 4


 Scottish Agricultural College
 17
 9
 12


 St Andrews University
 62
 24
 17


 Stirling University
 120
 82
 86


 Strathclyde University
 296
 196
 237


 University of Abertay, Dundee
 198
 80
 106


 University of Paisley
 344
 53
 101


 UHIMI
 336
 151
 156


 Total HEI
 3,315
 1,367
 1,635


 Grand Total
 6,537
 3,094
 3,228



  Source: Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) management information collected from Scottish institutions.

  Notes:

  Monetary amounts have been rounded to the nearest thousand and are quoted in thousands. Cells containing dashes represent zero.

  1. Fife and Glenrothes Colleges merged to form Adam Smith College.

  2. Clackmannan and Falkirk Colleges merged to form Forth Valley College.

  3. Glasgow College of Building and Printing and Glasgow College of Food Technology merged to form Glasgow Metropolitan College.

  Academic year 2006-07 is the latest for which information on support distributed through the Higher Education Childcare Fund is available.

Higher Education

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many students (a) applied for and (b) received funding through the Higher Education Childcare Fund in each of the last five years and what (i) average and (ii) total amount was received.

Fiona Hyslop: The table below shows the number of applications for support from the Higher Education Childcare Fund, instances of assistance from the fund, the total amount of funding distributed and the average amount of support per instance of assistance. The Higher Education Childcare Fund came into being in academic year 2005-06. It replaced the Mature Students Bursary Fund which was not restricted to funding for childcare only. Figures for academic years 2002-03 to 2004-05 relate to the Mature Students Bursary Fund.

  

 Academic Year
 Number of Applications for Assistance
 Instances of Assistance
 Total Amount Issued (£000)
 Average Amount Issued (£)


 2002-03
 7,085
 6,815
 5,018 
 736


 2003-04
 6,690
 6,180
 5,899 
 954


 2004-05
 6,360
 5,855
 6,537 
 1,116


 2005-06
 1,895
 1,715
 3,094 
 1,806


 2006-07
 1,405
 1,260
 3,228 
 2,562



  Source: Student Awards Agency for Scotland management information provided by Scottish institutions.

  Notes:

  "Number of applications for assistance" and "Instances of Assistance" have been rounded up or down to the nearest five (e.g. one, two round to zero; three, four round to five).

  "Total Amounts Issued" have been rounded to the nearest thousand and are quoted in thousands.

  Average amounts have been rounded to the nearest pound.

  Individual identifying details of students receiving help from the Higher Education Childcare Fund (and Mature Students Bursary Fund) are not held centrally. As it is possible that a student may receive help more than once from the fund there may be a degree of double counting in the management information. We therefore report number of applications and instances of assistance from the fund rather than the number of students assisted. Academic year 2006-07 is the latest for which data is available.

Higher Education

Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish details of its plans for support for higher education students.

Fiona Hyslop: I am pleased to announce that the consultation by the government on supporting learners in higher education: Supporting a Smarter Scotland has been published today. Copies of the consultation paper have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 47104).

  The consultation document can also be found at www.scotland.gov.uk/Consultations/.

Justice

Nigel Don (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what effects the establishment of a UK Supreme Court will have on the final appellate and devolution jurisdiction under the Scottish legal system.

Kenny MacAskill: Section 40 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 provides that an appeal from any order or judgment of a court in Scotland will lie to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom if it currently lies from a court in Scotland to the House of Lords. This provision continues the current right of appeal, for civil cases, from decisions of the Court of Session to the House of Lords. It also transfers jurisdiction in devolution issues – including Scottish devolution issues - from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to the new Supreme Court. Schedule 9 of the act makes other amendments relating to the jurisdiction of the new Supreme Court. The Supreme Court and other interacting constitutional reforms represent significant constitutional changes introduced by the Parliament at Westminster.

  In view of other changes to the operation of courts in Scotland introduced by the Scottish Parliament, it is entirely appropriate that the implications of these changes for the distinctive Scottish legal system are considered in full, in Scotland, and at this time.

  I recognise that under the Scotland Act it would not be possible to deliver legislative change in all these areas without legislation in the UK Parliament.

  However, I am pleased that Professor Neil Walker, Regius Chair of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations at the University of Edinburgh, has accepted my invitation to conduct a review of final appellate jurisdiction in the context of its implications for the Scottish legal system.

  I have asked Professor Walker to provide me with an overview of the historical development of final appellate jurisdiction in the Scottish legal system; to identify the established constitutional principles of such jurisdiction and to provide appropriate international comparisons.

  I have also asked Professor Walker to appraise the features, benefits and disadvantages of the current Scottish arrangements, and to assess options for future developments in order to present his conclusions and recommendations by December 2009.

Prison Service

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which prisons (a) have and (b) do not have (i) mental health inreach services provided by their NHS board and (ii) speech and language therapy services.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Each establishment has provision of a visiting psychiatry service from the NHS. The SPS meets the cost of these services. Additionally a forensic community psychiatric nurse attends HM Prison Inverness one day per week.

  HMYOI Polmont is the only establishment known to have a routine speech and language therapy service. HM Prison Inverness has provision of an in reach service when required.

Prison Service

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish Prison Service nurses and social workers have specialist qualifications, or have completed learning modules, in learning difficulties.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  There are currently 16 registered learning disability nurses employed by the Scottish Prison Service.

  All prison based social workers are qualified social workers. There is currently no specialist "learning difficulties" qualification for social workers. Training on learning difficulties is incorporated into the generic training for qualified social workers.

Public Buildings

Bill Wilson (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the allegations made against the Coca-Cola company by Mark Thomas in his book, Belching Out the Devil, Global Adventures with Coca-Cola , will cause it to examine legal mechanisms whereby public bodies within its responsibility, such as NHS bodies, could prevent the sale of such products on their premises.

Shona Robison: Our public sector settings are becoming exemplars in creating environments which promote positive mental and physical health wellbeing.

  Regulations covering soft drinks in the public sector are covered in schools by The Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act 2007. This requires local authorities to ensure that food and drink provided in schools comply with the nutritional requirements specified by Scottish ministers in regulations. Under these regulations (The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2008) schools are not permitted to sell soft drinks. These regulations came into force in primary schools in August 2008 and will commence in secondary schools in August 2009.

  With regard to NHS bodies we issued, in March 2008, Guidance on the Health Promoting Health Service issued to all NHS boards. This set out a number of actions which include a requirement to remove unhealthy soft drinks from hospital-managed restaurants and vending machines by 2011.

Rape

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were convicted of rape in each of the last four years.

Kenny MacAskill: The number of people convicted in Scottish courts for the crime of rape in the four years 2003-04 to 2006-07 was 39, 46, 41 and 27 respectively.

Rape

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were prosecuted for rape in each of the last four years.

Kenny MacAskill: The number of people prosecuted in Scottish courts for the crime of rape in the four years 2003-04 to 2006-07 was 81, 94, 91 and 65 respectively.

Rape

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were charged with rape in each of the last four years.

Kenny MacAskill: Statistics on persons charged by the police are not collected centrally.

Rape

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many lone parents it estimates have been studying for higher education qualifications in 2008 and how many did so in each of the last three years.

Fiona Hyslop: This information is not held centrally.

Vaccinations

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of renewed concerns in England regarding an increase in cases of measles and failure to meet MMR vaccination uptake targets, whether it will (a) carry out a further campaign to increase uptake and (b) promote and undertake further catch-up work for people previously not immunised.

Shona Robison: MMR uptake rates in Scotland have been higher than in many parts of England throughout the last decade. The quarterly childhood immunisation statistics published on 30 September indicate that uptake of the MMR vaccine by 24 months in Scotland was 91.7%, whereas the comparable figure for England in 2007-08 was 85%, and uptake in London was less than 80%.

  The rate of measles is also much lower in Scotland relative to the population than in the rest of the UK. In 2008 there have been a total of 53 laboratory confirmed cases of measles in Scotland, compared to 1049 laboratory confirmed cases in England and Wales to the end of October 2008.

  For these reasons there are no plans to extend the English MMR catch-up campaign to Scotland. But we are not being complacent and have a number of initiatives underway that aim to reduce risk of measles, mumps and rubella. The "Never Too Late" campaign, launched in 2006, aims to encourage vaccination of children who may be beyond the normal age for vaccination, emphasising that it is never too late to be vaccinated. Currently there is also a national initiative to focus invitations for the second dose of MMR pre-school vaccination at the lower end of the age range for vaccinations, thereby decreasing the period of time in which children are reliant on protection from only one dose of MMR.